The God Factory
“Yet You, Lord, are our Father. We are the clay, You are the potter; we are all the work of Your hand.”- Isaiah 64:8
If you have grade-school kids, grandkids, or are around little ones for any amount of time, you have likely discovered that many of them love SLIME. The next time you go on YouTube be ready to be amazed by a long-list of people making it and reviewing it. The next time you shop at Target, make your way to the toys, school supplies, or arts and crafts aisles, and you will see shelves devoted to slime kits and products.
In our home (with our daughter) slime-making has become as popular as hide and seek, board games, and Barbies. A few weekend’s ago we went out on a slime supplies shopping spree. We picked up all the needed materials: glue, clay, shaving cream, washable paint, and laundry detergent. When we returned home, we were in the slime lab (a.k.a. the kitchen table) creating a glorious yellow glob. It was stretchy, sticky, and slimy. It was a success! She placed her new toy in a Tupperware, preserving it for future fun. A few days later we took the leftover materials we had in attempts to make more slime, because you can never really have enough! This time we ran into a problem.
For whatever the reason, the materials were not turning into slime. There was a mess on the table, with no results. As we kept stirring it in the bowl and rubbing it in our hands nothing was materializing. As I watched my daughter’s disappointment, I thought of possible solutions. I quickly pulled out a handful of the slime from the Tupperware and had her add it to the small clump of stuff (not slime) in the bowl. Within seconds of putting the two substances together we had slime! The slime from the container was larger than the materials in the bowl and quickly absorbed it into its substance. There was no mess, there was no failure, there was no “what is that?”. There was simply slime!
As I think about the transformation that took place by putting the other stuff in the existing slime, I was immediately reminded of how our lives need to found in Jesus and formed by His Spirit. Truly, Jesus’ words to us in John 15:5 is a reminder of our need for Him at all times and in every area of life, “I am the Vine; you are the branches. If you remain in Me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from Me you can do nothing.” Like the slime, there are many ingredients that make up the composition of our lives, but apart from God we only find that things get messy or fail to realize their full potential. In our pursuit of happiness, we can throw things like relationships, job title, material possessions, and talents into the bowl, but it never keeps us FULFILLED. In our pursuit of breakthrough, we can throw things like counseling, programs, accountability partners/groups, personal disciplines into the bowl, but it doesn’t translate into lasting FREEDOM. In our pursuit of peace, we can throw in self-help books, vacation time, meditation, positive-thinking and solid friends into the bowl, but it doesn’t bring a strong type of FAITH.
The only thing that is going to change all our stuff is to be filled with God’s loving presence and perfect truth. We need Him to be the dominant and deposited substance in our lives. Jesus’ life is the most important substance to becoming strong in our faith, pure in our heart, joyful in our spirit, and assured in our minds. When our lives are linked to Christ we will not fall apart, lose heart, or miss reaching the goal! 1 John 5:4 tells us how to live in the optimum place, “For everyone born of God overcomes the world. This is the victory that has overcome the world, even our faith.” The other day, a dear brother in the church family texted me that his new daily confession is this, “With God you can only win, you can’t lose!” To that I shout a big “Amen!”
Let’s make a choice today to stop being messed up by the events in our lives, the slip-ups we have, the lack of resources, or the challenging relationships that sap us of all energy, confidence, patience, and joy. Stop stirring up the stuff in the bowl and working tirelessly in hopes that it will magically materialize. Give it to the MAKER of the heavens and earth, the one who formed you in the womb, who framed you in His image, and filled you with fullest measure of His goodness.
For any needing something greater to build your life upon, allow the following promises to take root in your heart:
Exodus 15:2- “The Lord is my strength and my defense; He has become my salvation.”
Psalm 100:3- “Know that the Lord is God. It is He who made us, and we are His; we are His people, the sheep of His pasture.”
Colossians 2:9-10- “For in Christ all the fullness of the Deity lives in bodily form, and in Christ you have been brought to fullness.”
2 Corinthians 4:7- “But we have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this all-surpassing power is from God and not from us.”
Philippians 4:13- “I can do all things through Him who gives me strength.”
1 John 4:4- “Greater is He that is in you, than he who is in this world.”